My very first overseas trip was to Singapore. It was a magical experience for a new traveler, and I enjoyed exploring the island with my parents and brother. I was fortunate enough to visit Singapore again a few years ago and still found it magical and entertaining. According to me, these are the ten best places in Singapore to visit:

1. Having a Singapore Sling at the Long Bar in the Raffles Hotel

The Raffles Hotel in Singapore is a beautiful and old colonial building. It is a national monument as it is more than a century old (built in 1887). The hotel has a lovely ambiance but is only affordable to the rich and famous. We walked through the hotel and its large corridors to get to the Long Bar on the second floor.

The Long Bar serves a Singapore must-do – the Singapore Sling. It is probably the most expensive drink I have ever had, but it was sweet and tasty. While having the Singapore Sling you are given peanuts and, unlike anywhere else in Singapore, you can drop all your peanut shells right where you are sitting. It makes you feel slightly naughty in a city where littering is almost a crime. Something to experience once in your life!

2. Trying different craft beers at Clarke Quay

We spent one evening at the Clarke Quay, where there is a large variety of restaurants. My partner and I like craft beers and found a few places selling a good selection of craft beers. The atmosphere at Clarke Quay is magical at night, and it was an enjoyable evening with good company, good beer, and tasty fries.

3. Visiting Merlion Park

The Merlion is a Singaporean mascot. It is the body of a fish with the head of a lion. The Merlion stands at Merlion Park. There is another, larger Merlion on Sentosa Island, but I like the smaller version more.

4. Night Tour of Singapore (Moonlight Adventure)

As always we chose to do the hop-on-hop-off bus in Singapore, and we bought the night tour at a discounted rate. It was worth it! We had such an excellent guide. He was knowledgeable and passionate about life in Singapore. He could tell us all kinds of stories about life in Singapore and the future of Singapore. Just meeting him was an experience in itself.

Seeing Singapore at night was also an experience I can highly recommend. Singapore is a beautiful city during the day, but it sparkles at night. Singapore can be hot and humid during the day, so going out at night is refreshing.

5. Gardens at Marine Bay

We visited the supertree grove for a musical experience that was incredible! Not only did the show impress me but what I found fascinating was that it was a recycling facility! Singapore is a very innovative city!

6. Trying exotic fruits in China Town

As part of the night tour, we were taken to China Town and given different types of exotic fruit to try. We tried the Singapore Durian, which tastes better than it smells. We also tried dragon fruit, which was pleasant. Not paying for the fruit was a bonus!

7. Trying different dishes from the Singapore Food Trail

There is a large selection of foods to try at the Singapore Food Trail, located next to the Singapore Flyer. We bought some Malay satay (meat on sticks) there and found it delicious. I loved the peanut sauce! We also bought noodles but was charged for a takeaway container when we couldn’t finish it. The noodles’ portions were large, and they were tasty. We found the food a tad expensive for what is essentially street food.

8. Fort Siloso (Sentosa Island)

My partner is a history buff, so visiting Fort Siloso was not optional. I didn’t mind. Fort Siloso is a restored coastal gun battery from World War II. The restoration and displays were done well with a lot of detail. It tells the story of how the war affected Singapore.

9. Images of Singapore (Sentosa Island)

Images of Singapore is also a museum, but it offers a lovely experience. It speaks to the history of Singapore, its diverse people and their cultures. The displays are detailed and almost appear real. At specific points, there are interactive exhibits. The museum takes a while to walk through, but we did not get bored. Visiting the Images of Singapore was an educational, but fun experience.

10. SEA Aquarium (Sentosa Island)

We loved the SEA Aquarium. Not only did we get to feed and touch stingrays, but I also saw pink dolphins for the first time in my life. And I learned that dolphins don’t always have a normal dolphin shape. It was not the best aquarium I have ever been to, but still worth a visit.

I cannot wait to go back a third time. We have seen and done so much, and yet there are still so many things we have not seen or done!

Singapore is a small country, but its offerings pack a punch! These were our ten best places to visit in Singapore – do you have any attractions or experiences you think we should try the next time we visit Singapore?

Singapore is an expensive city, particularly for hotel accommodation. And even more so when you come from an emerging market country like South Africa with a (usually) weakening currency. Although we try to limit our accommodation costs when travelling, neither of us are big fans of dorm rooms in hostels. We could still accept a private room in a hostel if we had to stick to our limited budget. So, when I was looking for a place to stay during our two-day visit in Singapore, privacy, reasonable budget and a central location were my criteria for a hotel.

Hotel Clover Singapore

And then I found the Hotel Clover in Hong Kong Street, Singapore. Not only was the prices quite reasonable for a centrally located hotel offering a private room with a bathroom and wifi, but it also included breakfast. But the proof of how good a hotel it is would be when we stay there and experience it for ourselves.

Location, location, location

One of the best features of the hotel was its location. It was close to two Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations, namely, Raffles Place and Clarke Quay. There are also several bus stops nearby. Its proximity to public transport helped us get there quite quickly after arriving in Singapore early in the morning from the Woodlands Checkpoint Train station.

Several sights are also close enough to the Hotel Clover to walk to such as the Raffles Hotel (15 minutes), Suntec Convention Centre (Duck tours and red bus tours – 20 minutes) and China Town (10 minutes). Clarke Quay has several restaurants and is only a 10-minute walk from the hotel.

All-in-all, an excellent location for the price we paid.

The staff at Hotel Clover

When we eventually arrived at Hotel Clover, the staff did not disappoint. They were always very friendly and helpful, and that went from the reception staff to the girl who cooked breakfast. It was refreshing after having spent a few nights at the Royal Bintang Hotel in Kuala Lumpur where service and comfort were clearly not a priority. Since we arrived too early for our room to be ready, we left our luggage in the luggage storage provided by the hotel.

Hotel Clover – the rooms

Our room was lovely. Since it was a boutique hotel, the size of the room was not very big. As soon as you walked into the room, you faced the bed. The bathroom was almost bigger than the room itself, which I found a bit strange. But what the room lacked in space, it made up for in comfort. The room was immaculate, and the decor was easy on the eye with laminated wooden floors. The wifi provided by the hotel worked like a dream and was fast. We also loved the large safe in the room, which worked like a dream and could easily accommodate our two MacBooks and my iPad.

The bathroom was spacious and separated from the bedroom by a frosted glass partition – although it was not completely transparent, it was still quite revealing. So, if you consider staying in this hotel, make sure it is someone you feel quite comfortable with when naked. The shower itself was heavenly with a rain showerhead.

Toiletries at Hotel Clover Singapore

Other benefits of staying at Hotel Clover

After a day of sightseeing, returning to the hotel was a delight! The complimentary bottled water and soda provided by the Hotel Clover were a blessing as Singapore is always hot and humid.

The breakfast was quite basic and consisted of an egg, made to your request. Other standard items, such as little boxes of cereal, bread and jams were also provided. Not the best breakfast, but consider that it was free and still filling, it didn’t matter to us.

The rooftop of the hotel features a terrace with a pool and a little sitting area. Even though we had every intention to make use of the pool, we found ourselves out till late each night visiting Clarke Quay and eventually ended up not even seeing the rooftop terrace. Clarke Quay has several restaurants near, some on, water, which was lovely to sit and have a few late night drinks.

The hotel also offers arrangements for tours, but we did not make use of this service. We only asked them to arrange a taxi for us on departure, since we had an early flight at 6:50 and needed to be at the airport long before the MRT opens for the day at 5:30.

The verdict

We loved this hotel. It was by no means perfect or cheap enough to be called a budget hotel, but it ticked a lot of boxes for us regarding budget, location and comfort. The free breakfast, bottled water and soda were bonuses we thoroughly appreciated and enjoyed. We definitely would recommend this hotel to anyone looking for a decent hotel in a central location. We will consider staying here again should we ever be lucky enough to visit Singapore again.

Over to you!

Have you ever stayed in the Hotel Clover in Singapore? If not, which hotel in Singapore is your favourite?